sxhan, with all due respect, it seems you've had some bad luck with travel and travel-related providers lately. (I noticed your thread on your rental car damage as well as the late posting of your rental car miles.) I think you need to stop and slow down your pace a bit (or at least take a deep breathe before making decisions when you are not home). All the problems you have encountered are unfortunate but certainly avoidable. Your words of warning are certainly appreciated by those who will follow in your footsteps, but many times common sense is the best defense.

For example, you mentioned that there was a line of 10-plus people at the closest ATM. That represents a 10-15 minute wait. That's not an ungodly wait, and ATMs are definitely the preferred method of changing money while traveling. In the end, crossing the street, dealing with a new line, and talking to the clerk would have taken 5-10 minutes anyway. If you carry a book (perhaps on travel scams), a local newspaper, or a PDA, you could have spent the extra 5-10 minutes reading and/or writing and you may have been more willing to tolerate a wait in line.

On the other issue here: as for charging for ketchup or extra sauce for the chicken mcnuggets in other countries, that is perfectly legit in my view. It is a different country with different customs and business practices. Otherwise, it wouldn't be called foreign travel.